49 Filipino workers repatriated from Saudi Arabia amid Middle East tensions

A total of 49 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia safely returned to the Philippines on Friday after availing of the government's voluntary repatriation program amid tensions in the Middle East.

Arriving at NAIA Terminal 3 aboard a Gulf Air flight, the workers were welcomed by officials from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Repatriation efforts were carried out through the joint coordination of the DMW, OWWA, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and the Migrant Workers Office in Riyadh under the government's UPLIFT initiative.

Medical personnel were also on standby to provide free health checkups for the returning workers.

“Mula sa ating Pangulo na kailangan proteksiyonan ang mga OFWs, pang anim na kayong batch na tinulungan makauwi. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa Diyos at safe kayo na nakarating sa Pilipinas. Nagbibigay ang OWWA ng financial assistance at in partnership with TESDA magbibigay tayo ng libreng training at kung active OWWA members kayo magbibigay ng ‘Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay,’” said OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan.

DMW and OWWA also provided financial aid, psychosocial counseling, transportation assistance, and reintegration support to help the OFWs return to their home provinces and rebuild their livelihoods.

The latest repatriation comes amid heightened security concerns in Saudi Arabia following a drone incident near Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield that killed a Filipino worker and a Nepali national, while injuring two others, according to Saudi authorities.

RA Sibag/Paraluman News